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Updated Saturday, December 22, 2007 0:00 am TWN, By Dimitri Bruyas, The China Post



	Hugues Mignot, honorary director of the Belgian Office in Taipei, gives a presentation on the Belgian comic strip character “Tintin,” during a recent event organized by the Alliance Francaise and the French bookstore “Le Pigeonnier,” (The Pigeon Loft) in Taipei. (Dimitri Bruyas, The China Post) Enlarge Photo

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Belgian envoy recounts 20 years in Taiwan

It recognizes “the democratic achievements and the geopolitical and economic importance of the island in the Asia Pacific Theater, while recognizing China’s growing sense of responsibility on the political world scene,” he said.

“If initially the European perception of the cross-strait issue was limited to its trade and investment interests, it now takes into full account Taiwan’s democratic aspirations, variously perceived along the lines of the multiple European political configurations in the old and new Europe,” he said.

In the immediate future, Mignot added, he is happy with his volunteer work at the National Palace Museum, where he enjoys showing museum visitors appreciate treasures accumulated over the past millennium by generations of imperial collectors. He likes to mention China’s first emperor, Qin Shi huangdi (221-210 B.C.) who first conceived of a Chinese empire.

“Is he the father of the now sacrosanct ‘One China’ concept?” he asked rhetorically. “Could Taiwan then be part of a ‘China house’ in the same way that Portugal, Sweden, and Luxemburg belong to the European House? Let Beijing and Taipei then work toward an acceptable understanding of a common Chinese future,” he remarked.

“Europe also has a unique sense of belonging,” Mignot continued. “If you ask Belgians or Danish or Swiss whether they are part of Europe, they would naturally reply positively.

After 21 years in Taiwan, Mignot retired from the Belgian Office and was honored by Taiwan’s President with the Grand Cordon of the Brilliant Star medal. Originally he planned to return to his native Brussels, but the soft-spoken Belgian decided to stay in Taiwan. Taiwan’s new “son-in-law” now shares his time between his family, an assignment in Taiwan for the Luxembourg government, and volunteering as a docent at the National Palace Museum.

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